This activity is part of Module 11: The Fourth Amendment from the Constitution 101 Curriculum
In this activity, you will get a better understanding of key terms of the Fourth Amendment and read how two top scholars explain the Fourth Amendment’s text, history, and case law. In this activity, you will learn about the Fourth Amendment, its key terms, and its defining concepts.
Read the text of the Fourth Amendment, then review the key terms below. For each term:
- Paraphrase each term in your own words.
- Give an example that highlights each term, either from the Constitution, a Supreme Court case, or a real-world example.
- Video Timestamp: Write down the timestamp for when Jeff defines the term in the video.
Search
Entering someone’s home to look for evidence is a search, but passively observing someone in plain view in public is not.
Seizure
When the government restrains someone or takes her property, there’s a seizure. When the government doesn’t, there isn’t.
Reasonable
Generally, for a search or seizure to be reasonable, the police need to go to a judge and secure a warrant supported by probable cause.
However, there are times when a warrant is not required.
Warrant
A warrant ensures that searches and seizures are generally cleared in advance by a judge. To get a warrant from a judge, the government must show “probable cause.”
Probable Cause
“Probable cause” simply means a certain level of suspicion of criminal activity to justify a particular search or a particular seizure. Probable cause requires a “fair probability” that, for instance, the relevant evidence of a crime will be found in the place (or thing) to be searched.
Exclusionary Rule
The exclusionary rule is being followed when a court throws out evidence in a criminal trial that the police found through violating the Fourth Amendment.
Third-Party Doctrine
When an individual gives her information or data to someone else—like a private company—she generally abandons her reasonable expectation of privacy in that information or data. Under the third-party doctrine, when the government tries to obtain this “third-party” information, it is not considered a search for Fourth Amendment purposes and the government is not required to get a warrant before getting access to it.
